Instagram – the most loved and well-received social media site across the globe is seeing over 1 billion active users. The platforms move to make itself media integrated, has won it favour from not just its active users who use the platform to showcase and sell their unique products and services, but also from brands.

While earlier the platform’s success could be attributed to a deep and different aesthetic sense, which as we all know is rather subjective, now hashtags play an immense role in the success of an account – in terms of followers and engagement.

So, does that mean that every word you type should be a hashtag on the platform? Unless you want your account to be what is labelled as an #overkill, the answer is a straight no. How then, do you achieve the right mix of a hashtag clout which gets your posts the right visibility and engagement with the audience that you are after.

Choose. Use. Repeat, not.

Most brands make the mistake of doing a quick search on the internet on the most popular and followed hashtags on Instagram, and then just use those as part of their hashtag clout on a regular basis. Steer clear of this practice. The platform has empowered its users to not just follow certain hashtags, but has also given them the liberty to choose the ‘don’t show for this hashtag’ option for a specific type of content. To many users opting for such an option results in the content being labelled as spammy and raises quite a few red flags.

Variety is the spice of life and well, engagement

71% of users on Instagram are below the age of 35. Millennials and Gen Z form the major user base of the platform – with the gender split being fairly equal as well. As marketers, we know that a content style that is repetitive only alienates them. Their constant need for variety, something new, and the next big thing needs to be fed. Therefore, your content should dictate the hashtags that you choose for that particular post. So, each post should be seen and treated differently and hashtags determined accordingly to sit well with the audience on Instagram.

Talk to individuals, the community will follow

People like to engage with brands that let them do and experience interesting things. For brands, user generated content is the golden egg that they are after. Instagram is the platform that allows the nurturing of this mutually beneficial equation – through the integration of the right hashtags of course. Therefore, though #beauty might have the numbers it is #brownhairproblems that is likely get you the engagement that you are after.

Pull, not push

There are several other practices that lead to the success of an account on Instagram. To discuss them in detail, pay the team at Brandsum a visit. We will walk you through them.